Company Profile Regions Financial Corporation (RF)

Summary

The Fed concluded its Open Market Committee meeting and, as expected, lowered the federal funds rate by another 25 basis points. The fed funds rate is now 4.25%-4.50%. This was the third reduction in the rate reduction program, which began in September after the central bank raised rates significantly in 2022 and 2023. Three meetings, three cuts. But based on the forecasts released along with the rate decision, it looks like the Fed will be reluctant to cut rates in the coming months too soon. Although the Fed has shifted its focus to combating inflation, it has not yet focused on stimulating the economy. CPI inflation has fallen from a reading above 9.0% to a reading below 3.0% — but soon fell short of the central bank’s target of 2%. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is still very low and GDP growth has reached around 3.0% in several sectors. The economy doesn’t really need low prices. However. Market reactions to the Fed’s signals show that investors and traders are increasingly worried that the current rate hike will push the economy closer to recession. In our opinion, this should not happen